David Carballo is an archeologist, author, specifically studying pre-Hispanic Central Mexico, he is also the Professor of Anthropology, Archaeology, and Latin American Studies at Boston University. Carballo’s work has been featured in The Atlantic, as well as BBC’s Lost Kingdoms of Central America. What makes Carballo’s books different is his extensive work in the field, studying the artifacts on location, gaining a deeper understanding of what the households, communities, and day to day lifestyle was like for that ancient culture.
One of the things that we at Book Brilliant find so interesting about Carballo is his expertise in the areas of the ancient Aztecs that rarely get covered. Typically when people study the Aztecs their focus is on two things 1. Human sacrifice and 2. The Spanish conquest. While both of those are indeed interesting, the fascination and focus may be misplaced. As Carballo told us, “To focus on the human sacrifice aspect of the ancient Aztecs would be like if you only told someone about crucifixions or gladiatorial combat in ancient Rome. What people don’t realize about the Aztecs is that they had relatively developed women’s rights for their time, a system of compulsory public education, and systems of urban infrastructure that is all worth studying today.” Carballo points out that studying infrastructure systems of ancient people would be useful for policy makers today.
Check out all of Carballo’s books below, and be sure to check out his website, and follow him on Twitter. After you read his books be sure to check out a few that he recommends below:
–Conquest: Cortes, Montezuma, and the Fall of Old Mexico by Hugh Thomas
–The Buried Mirror: Reflections of Spain and the New World by Carlos Fuentes
–Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest by Matthew Restall
Books by David Carballo: